A2 PHYSICS

CHAPTERWISE
NOTES
12 Motion in a circle

12.1 Kinematics of uniform circular motion

• The angular displacement of a body is the change in angle (radians, degree or

revolutions) through which the body rotates around a circle
• Angular displacement is the ratio of:
𝛥𝑠
𝛥𝜃 =
𝑟

• A radian (rad) is defined as the angle subtended at the centre of a circle by

an arc equal in length to the radius of the circle
• Radians is usually written in term of π
• For a rotation for a complete circle (3600), the radians is 2π (𝛥𝜃 = 2πr/r)
• For a rotation for half a circle (1800), the radians is π (𝛥𝜃 = πr/r)
• To convert degrees to radian use

𝜃0
× 𝜋 = 𝜃𝑟𝑎𝑑
1800

• Angular speed (⍵) is defined as the rate of change in angular displacement

with respect to time the unit is measured in rad s-1 (or angle s-1 or rev s-1)

𝛥𝜃 2𝜋
⍵= = = 2𝜋𝑓
𝛥𝑡 𝑇
 • The tangential velocity is the velocity measured at any point tangent to a
rotating body
• The SI unit for tangential velocity is ms-1
• The equation is given as
𝑉𝑡 = 𝑟𝜔

• Use rad s-1 for ⍵!

• The further the object is from the centre of the circle (r), the greater the
velocity needed to complete a full circle
• Eg. track running

12.2 Centripetal acceleration

• During a uniform circular motion, an object is continuously changing direction.

• Since velocity is a vector, the change in direction would imply that there is an
acceleration on the object.
• This acceleration is called centripetal acceleration.
• The centripetal acceleration is caused by centripetal force.
• Centripetal force means centre seeking force as it always acts towards the
centre.
• Note that speed is constant even if velocity is changing.
• This is because speed is a scalar.
• Angular speed (⍵) stays constant as well.
Centripetal acceleration (ac) is given by

𝑣𝑡2
𝑎𝑐 =
𝑟
Applying
𝑉𝑡 = 𝑟𝜔

You get

𝑎𝑐 = 𝑟𝜔2

Centripetal force (𝑭𝒄 ) can therefore be calculated using

𝐹𝑐 = 𝑚𝑎𝑐

Which will give you

𝑚𝑣𝑡2
𝐹𝑐 =
𝑟
Or

𝐹𝑐 = 𝑚𝑟𝜔2
13 Gravitational fields

13.1 Gravitational field

• When two or more masses are in proximity with each other there is an
attractive force between them.
• This force is called gravity
• A gravitational field is defined as a region of space where a mass experience
a force due to the gravitational attraction of another mass.
• The SI unit for gravitational field strength is N kg-1 or ms-2
• The gravitational field strength (g) at a point is the force due to gravity or
weight (Fg) per unit mass (m) of an object at that point:

Fg
g=
m

• The larger the planet, the larger the g!

• Gravitational field lines like magnetic and electric field lines gives us an
indication to their direction.
• Unlike the other two however, gravitational field lines are always attractive and
never repulsive!
• Below are some examples of gravitational field lines
13.2 Gravitational force between point masses

• For a point outside a uniform sphere, the mass of the sphere may be considered
to be a point mass at its centre.
• A uniform sphere is one where its mass is distributed evenly.
• The gravitational field lines around a uniform sphere are therefore identical to
those around a point mass
• An object can be regarded as point mass when a body covers a very large
distance as compared to its size.
• Radial fields are considered non-uniform fields.
• Hence g is different depending on how far you are from the centre of mass of
the sphere
• Newton’s Law of Gravitation states that the gravitational force between two
point masses is proportional to the product of the masses and inversely
proportional to the square of their separation.
• This can be written as
𝐺𝑚1 𝑚2
𝐹𝐺 =
𝑟2

• Here G is Newton’s gravitational constant 6.67 x 10-11 Nm2kg-2

• This value will be given in exam.
• In order for a planet to stay in orbit around the sun (as oppose to falling into
the sun!) the planet must travel in a circular orbit around the sun in order for
centripetal force to balance the gravitational force

FC = F G

𝑚2 𝑣𝑡2 𝐺𝑚1 𝑚2
=
𝑟 𝑟2

𝐺𝑚1
𝑣𝑡2 =
𝑟

• The equation above proves that all planets travel at same tangential speed (v t)
around the sun since the speed is only dependent on the mass of the sun (m 1)
 • Most satellites orbiting the earth follow a geostationary orbit.
• The criteria for geostationary orbit are:
-Remains directly above the equator
-Moves from west to east (same direction as the Earth spins)
-Has an orbital time period equal to Earth’s rotational period of 24 hours

13.3 Gravitational field of a point mass

• In A levels the candidate must be able to derive the gravitational field equation

𝑮𝒎𝟏
𝒈=
𝒓𝟐

• To derive the equation above first take Newton’s law of gravitation force
equation

𝐺𝑚1 𝑚2
𝐹𝐺 =
𝑟2
And substitute FG with

FG = m2g
 • g here is the same as acceleration due to gravity that you have been using!
• The SI unit is in N kg-1 or ms-1
• Based on the gravitational field equation, g is directly proportional to the mass
of the planet (m1) and inversely proportional to the square of the radius of
the planet r2

• The value of g changes very little for small changes in height near the surface
of the Earth (9.81 ms-2).
• This is because any height change is very small compared to the radius of the
earth (r)

13.4 Gravitational potential

• Recall that gravitational potential energy (GPE) is given by

GPE = mgh

• It is defined as the energy an object possess due to its position in a

gravitational field
• We can replace the height (h) with the distance from the center of the earth
(r) and mass (m) with the mass of the object above the earth (m2)

GPE = m2gr

• Gravitational potential (ɸ) is defined work done per unit mass in bringing a test mass
from infinity to a defined point
• So basically, gravitational potential (ɸ) is just GPE per kg-1 (GPE/mass)!
• The SI unit is J kg-1
• Divide the equation above with m2

ɸ = gr
Recall that

𝐺𝑚1
𝑔=
𝑟2

Substituting into the above equation we get

−𝑮𝒎𝟏
ɸ=
𝒓

The equation for GPE of two-point masses m1 and m2 can thus be written as

𝐺𝑚1 𝑚2
𝐺𝑃𝐸 =
𝑟

If the object was initially at r1 from the center of the Earth and then moved further to r2
Both GPE and ɸ would be

𝟏 𝟏
𝜟𝑮𝑷𝑬 = 𝑮𝒎𝟏 𝒎𝟐 ( − )
𝒓𝟏 𝒓𝟐

𝟏 𝟏
𝜟ɸ = 𝑮𝒎𝟏 ( − )
𝒓𝟏 𝒓𝟐
Chapter 14 Temperature

14.1 Thermal equilibrium

• The candidate must first understand the difference between temperature and
thermal energy (heat)
• Temperature is a numerical measure of the average kinetic energy of
individual atoms.
• The hotter the object the faster its atoms vibrate which in turn means higher
temperature.
• The SI unit for temperature is Kelvin
• Thermal energy (heat) is energy.
• The SI unit is in Joules.
• Thermal energy is transferred from a region of higher temperature to a
region of lower temperature
• The energy transfer will continue until both regions are at the same
temperature.
• Thermal equilibrium is said to be achieved when this happens.

• The mechanism by which thermal energy is transferred is by either conduction,

convection or radiation.
14.2 Temperature scales

• A thermometer is any device that is used to measure temperature.

• Each type of thermometer uses a physical property of a material that varies
with temperature eg.

-the density of a liquid

-the volume of a gas at constant pressure

-resistance of a metal

-e.m.f. of a thermal couple

• The candidate will need to be able to give an example for each of the above
types and explain how it works
• The Kelvin scale is also called the thermo dynamic scale.
• Absolute zero is defined as the temperature at which atoms and molecules in
all substances have zero kinetic and potential energy.
• At absolute zero, molecules is assumed to have no spacing between them as well.

• On the thermodynamic scale, absolute zero is defined as:

The lowest temperature possible. Equal to 0 K or -273.15 oC

 • The difference between Kelvin and oC is that Kelvin will never have a negative
number and that the lowest it can go is 0 K.
• To convert oC to Kelvin use:

Temperature in Kelvin = Temperature Celsius + 273.15

14.3 Specific heat capacity and specific latent heat

• Recall the definition of specific heat capacity from IGCSE / SPM.

• Specific heat capacity (c) is the amount of heat required to change the
temperature by 1oC or 1K for a mass of 1kg of the substance.

𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑎𝑚𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑚𝑎𝑙 𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑦 𝑄

𝑆𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑖𝑓𝑖𝑐 𝐻𝑒𝑎𝑡 𝐶𝑎𝑝𝑎𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦, 𝑐 = =
𝐶ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑡𝑒𝑚𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑢𝑛𝑖𝑡 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝜃𝑚

• The SI unit for specific heat capacity is J kg-1K-1or J kg-1 oC-1

• The specific heat capacity tells us how much a substance can “absorb” thermal
energy before its temperature increases.
• For eg. a metallic substance like copper has low heat capacity as opposed to
wood. If both substances are expose to heat for the same amount of time, the
copper will have a higher temperature than the wood.
• Typically, a substance that has a high c, will heat up or cool down faster.
• A substance with a low c, will heat up and cool down slower.
• Specific latent heat is defined as amount of heat required to change 1kg of
substance at constant temperature.

𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑎𝑚𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑚𝑎𝑙 𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑦 𝑄

𝑆𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑖𝑓𝑖𝑐 𝐿𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝐻𝑒𝑎𝑡, 𝑙 = =
𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑢𝑛𝑖𝑡 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑚

• The SI unit for specific latent heat is J kg-1.

• There are two types of specific latent heat.
• Specific latent heat of fusion is the amount of heat required to change 1kg
of substance from solid to liquid without changing the temperature.
• Specific latent heat of vaporization is the amount of heat required to
change 1kg of substance from liquid to gas without changing the
temperature.
15 Ideal gases

15.1 The mole

• In thermodynamic, the amount of substance is measured in the SI unit mole.

• Mole is defined as the SI base unit of an ‘amount of substance’. It is the
amount containing as many particles (e.g., atoms or molecules) as there are
atoms in 12 g of carbon-12.
• The candidate should know from AS that the atomic mass unit (u) is equivalent
to 1.66x10-27 kg
• A carbon-12 atom has a mass of 12u (6 protons and 6 neutrons) or 12x1.66x10-
27
kg
• Hence
0.012
1 𝑚𝑜𝑙𝑒 = = 6 ⋅ 02 × 1023 𝑚𝑜𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑢𝑙𝑒𝑠
1 ⋅ 99 × 10−26

• The Avogardo’s constant (NA) is defined as

The number of atoms of carbon-12 in 12 g of carbon-12; equal to 6.02 ×
1023 mol-1

15.2 Equation of state

• Any gas that follows the relationship pV ∝ 𝑇 is an ideal gas.

• Here p is pressure in Pa, V is the volume of the gas in m3 and T is temperature in
Kelvin.
• Recall that Boyle’s Law states that pressure (p) is inversely proportional to
volume (V) assuming temperature is constant
• The equation given is

P1V1 = P2V2

• Charles’ Law states that volume (V) is directly proportional to temperature (T)
• The equation used is
𝑉1 𝑉2
=
𝑇1 𝑇2

• Pressure Law states that pressure (p) is directly proportional to temperature

(T).
• The equation used is
𝑃1 𝑃2
=
𝑇1 𝑇2

• Mnemonics time! In order to remember which variable is proportional to which

just use
-Boyle’s Law: Boy’s like to Play Video games
-Charles’ Law: Charlie Brown is a TV show
-Pressure Law: …..
• Remember to use Kelvin and not Celsius in temperature!
• The equation of state for an ideal gas (or the ideal gas equation) can be
expressed as:
pV = nRT

The equation can also be rewritten as

pV = NkT

Here
-n is the number of moles
-N is the number of molecules
-R is the molar gas constant (8.3144598 m2 kg s-2 K-1 mol-1)
-k is Boltzmann’s constant which is given by k = R/NA (1.38064852 × 10-23 J K-1)

• An ideal gas is therefore defined as a gas which obeys the equation of state
pV = nRT at all pressures, volumes and temperatures.
15.3 Kinetic theory of gases

• The kinetic theory of gas assumes the following:

-Molecules of gas behave as identical, hard, perfectly elastic spheres
-The volume of the molecules is negligible compared to the volume of the
container
-The time of a collision is negligible compared to the time between collisions
-There are no forces of attraction or repulsion between the molecules
-The molecules are in continuous random motion
• The pressure of an ideal gas equation includes the mean square speed of the
particle:

<c2>

Here c = average speed of gas particles

• The unit for mean square speed is m2s-2

• In order to calculate the average speed of the particles in a gas, take the
square root of the mean square speed:

√⟨𝑐 2 ⟩ = 𝑐𝑟𝑚𝑠

• The unit for crms is ms-1

• The kinetic Theory of Gases equation is given by

1
𝑝𝑉 = 𝑁𝑚<c2>
3

Where

-p = pressure (Pa)

-V = volume (m3)

-N = number of molecules

-m = mass of one molecule of gas (kg)

 -<c2> = mean square speed of the molecules (ms-1)

• On top of being able to apply the equation above, the candidate is expected to
know how to derive the kinetic Theory of Gases equation as well:

-Step 1: Find the change in momentum as a single molecule hits a wall

perpendicularly

𝛥𝑝 = −𝑚𝑐 − (+𝑚𝑐) = −2𝑚𝑐

-Step 2: Calculate the number of collisions per second by the molecule on a wall

Assume that a gas molecule has to travel from one end of a container
to the other end (l). When it bounces after collision back to initial
position, the total distance travelled would be 2l. Using
𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒
𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑒𝑑 =
𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒

𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 2𝑙
𝑇𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑏𝑒𝑡𝑤𝑒𝑒𝑛 𝑐𝑜𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠 = =
𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑒𝑑 𝑐

-Step 3: Find the change in momentum per second

Recall

Force = rate of change of momentum

𝛥𝑝 2𝑚𝑐 𝑚𝑐 2
= =
𝛥𝑡 2𝑙 l
𝑐

-Step 4: Calculate the total pressure from N molecules

Assume the area of the wall that the molecule collides with is l2 and
using

𝑚𝑐 2
𝐹𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒 𝑚𝑐 2
𝑃𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑝 = = l2 = 3
𝐴𝑟𝑒𝑎 𝑙 𝑙

The equation above assumes only one molecule collides with the wall of
a container. Hence the equation above is the pressure from one
 molecule. The total pressure from N molecules can therefore be
calculated with

𝑁𝑚𝑐 2
𝑃𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑝 =
𝑙3

Since different molecules have different velocity, we will need to use

the mean squared speed <c2> instead of c2. The pressure is now

𝑁𝑚 < c2 >
𝑃𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑝 =
𝑙3

-Step 5: Consider the effect of the molecule moving in 3D space

The previous derivation only took into account the molecules traveling
in 1 dimension. Consider the other 2 dimensions, the actual c 2 can be
determined using Pythagoras’ theorem

c2 = cx2 + cy2 + cz2

Assuming that

<cx2> = <cy2> = <cz2>

Therefore <cx2> can be defined as

<cx2> = 1/3 <c2>

Since l3 is equal to the volume of the container (V), substituting back

into the pressure equation we get

𝑝𝑉 = 1/3𝑁𝑚 < c2 >

• Recall the ideal gas equation

pV = NkT

Hence
 𝑁𝑘𝑇 = 1/3𝑁𝑚 < c2 >

N will cancel out

𝑘𝑇 = 1/3𝑚 < c2 >

3𝑘𝑇 = 𝑚 < c2 >

Multiplying both sides with ½ gets you

3/2𝑘𝑇 = 1/2𝑚 < c2 >

Since ½ mc2 is equal to the kinetic energy of the molecule of an ideal gas we get

EK = 3/2 kT
16 Thermodynamics

An understanding of energy from Cambridge IGCSE/O Level Physics or equivalent is

assumed.

16.1 Internal energy

• The internal energy of a substance (U) is defined as the sum of the random
distribution of kinetic and potential energies within a system of molecules.
• The internal energy of an object is intrinsically related to its temperature.
• For e.g., when gas is heated up in a container, the gas molecules begin to move
faster increasing its KE.
• For solid objects, when you heat them up, the molecules begin to vibrate faster.
• Both solid and liquid objects molecules are bound by intermolecular forces.
• However, ideal gas molecules are assumed to have no intermolecular forces.
• This implies that for an ideal gas the internal energy consists of only KE and no
potential energy.
• Thus, the change in internal energy for an ideal gas can be rewritten as

3
𝛥𝑈 = 𝑘𝛥𝑇
2

We can therefore say that the change in internal energy is directly proportional
to the change in temperature

𝛥𝑈 ∝ 𝛥𝑇

16.2 The first law of thermodynamics

• For a gas in a cylinder enclosed by a moveable piston, the gas does work by
exerting a pressure on the piston and pushing the piston outwards.
• Since the piston moves outwards the volume of gas changes at constant
external pressure (p).
• Therefore, the gas does work on the piston.
• Thus, we can say that word done when a volume of gas changes at constant
external pressure is

𝑊 = 𝑝𝛥𝑉

• When gas expands (V increases), word is done by the gas.

• When gas compressed (V decreases), work is done on the gas.
• The first law of thermodynamics is based on the principle of conservation of
energy
• When energy is put into a gas by heating it or doing work on it, its internal
energy must increase:
• The increase in internal energy = Energy supplied by heating + Work done on the
system
• The first law of thermodynamics is therefore defined as:

𝛥𝑈 = 𝑞 + 𝑊

Where q is the energy (heat) supplied to the system by heating and W is the
work done on the system

• A positive value +𝛥𝑈 means that

-The internal energy (U) increases
-Heat (q) is added to the system or
-Work (W) is done on the system
• A negative value −𝛥𝑈 implies that
-The internal energy (U) decreases
-Heat (q) is taken away from the system or
-Work (W) is done by the system
• Therefore, when gas expands and work is done by the gas, work done is negative
(-W)
• When gas is compressed, work is done on the gas (+W)
17 Oscillations

17.1 Simple harmonic oscillations

• An oscillation is defined as repeated back and forth movements on either side

of any equilibrium position.
• When the object stops oscillating it returns to its equilibrium position
• An oscillation is a more specific term for a vibration
• An oscillator is a device that works on the principles of oscillations
• Oscillating systems can be represented by displacement-time graphics
• The motion in the graphs is described as sinusoidal

Displacement

Time

• Some properties of oscillation that candidates must be familiar with include

-Displacement (x) of an oscillating system is defined as
The distance of an oscillator from its equilibrium position
-Amplitude (xo) is defined as
The maximum displacement of an oscillator from its equilibrium position
-Frequency (f) is defined as
The number of complete oscillations per unit time (f = 1/T)
-Time period (T) defined as
The time taken for one complete oscillation, in seconds
 -Angular frequency (ω) is defined
The rate of change of angular displacement with respect to time
This is a scalar quantity measured in rad s-1 defined by the equation

2𝜋
𝜔= = 2𝜋𝑓
𝑇

• Phase difference is how much one oscillator is in front or behind another

-When the relative position of two oscillators is equal, they are in phase

-When one oscillator is exactly half a cycle behind another, they are said to be
in anti-phase

-Phase difference is normally measured in radians or fractions of a cycle

-When two oscillators are in antiphase, they have a phase difference of π

radians
• Simple harmonic motion (SHM) is a type of oscillation in which the
acceleration of a body is proportional to its displacement, but acts in the
opposite direction.
• E.g. of SHM oscillators are

-pendulum of a clock

-mass of a spring

• Acceleration a and displacement x can be represented by the defining equation

of SHM:

𝑎 ∝ −𝑥

• An object in SHM will have a restoring force to return it to its equilibrium

position
• This restoring force is directly proportional, but in the opposite direction, to
the displacement of the object (F=ma).
• The acceleration of an object oscillating in SHM is:

a = - ω2x

• based on the equation above, acceleration is maximum when x is at maximum (x0

or amplitude)
• The negative sign shows that when the object is displaced to the left, the
acceleration is to the right and vice versa.
• An equation for SHM displacement is

x = xo sin (ωt)

• This equation is useful for finding the position of an object in SHM if you know
the angular frequency (ω) and time (t).
• Another possible equation for SHM is

x = xo cos (ωt)

• The graph below shows both the sin (red) and cos (blue) solutions:
• The speed of an oscillator in SHM can be determined with the following equation

v = vo cos (ωt)

• Here v is the speed (ms-1) and vo the maximum speed.

• The equation above tells us that speed is maximum when ω = 0,180,360 etc. since
cos (0) = 1
• To find how the speed changes with the oscillator’s displacement (instead of ω)
you can use the following equation

𝑣 = ±𝜔√𝑥02 − 𝑥 2

• The following graphs below show the displacement, velocity and acceleration
graphs of an object in SHM.
• Velocity of an oscillator can be determined from the gradient of the
displacement-time graph: dx/dt.
• For the velocity graph, velocity is at its maximum when the displacement is zero.
• Acceleration can be determined from the gradient of the velocity-time graph:
dv/dt.
• The maximum value of the acceleration is when the oscillator is at is maximum
displacement.
17.2 Energy in simple harmonic motion

• During SHM, energy is constant exchanged between KE and PE.

• When one goes up, the other goes down and vice versa.
• E.g., the PE of a pendulum swing is maximum when it is at the top of the swing
whereby it momentarily stops (KE=0) and reverse direction.
• The KE is maximum at the point of equilibrium (bottom PE=0)
• Speed (v) is max when displacement x = 0. Hence KE is maximum
 • At max displacement x = x0 (amplitude), PE = max while KE = 0
• SHM is therefore converting between PE and KE all the time.
• The total energy of the system

Total energy = KE + PE

The total energy of a system undergoing SHM is defined by

E = ½ m ω2 x02

17.3 Damped and forced oscillations, resonance

• All oscillations eventually come to a stop due to resistive forces, such as friction
or air resistance (drag).
• These resistive forces act on an oscillating system causing damping.
• Damping is defined as the reduction in energy and amplitude of oscillations
due to resistive forces on the oscillating system.
• Damping continues until the oscillator comes to rest at the equilibrium position.
• Frequency does not change during damping only the amplitude of the oscillation
decreases.

• There are three types of damping

-Light damping: amplitude decays exponentially with time. E.g., pendulum swinging
with decrease amplitude until it stops.
-Critical damping: The oscillator will return to rest in the shortest time possible
without oscillation. E.g., car suspension system.
-Heavy damping: Takes a long time to return to rest without oscillation. E.g.,
door dampers to prevent sudden shut.

• Forced oscillations are defined as periodic forces which are applied in order
to sustain oscillations.
• Without forced oscillations, a damped system will eventually come to rest.
• The frequency of forced oscillations is called the driving frequency (f).
• All systems have a natural frequency (f0).
• The natural frequency (f0) is the frequency of an oscillation when the
oscillating system is allowed to oscillate freely.
• When the driving frequency (f) matches the natural frequency (f0), resonance
is achieved.
• When resonance occurs, the driving frequency applied to an oscillating system is
equal to its natural frequency, the amplitude of the oscillation will increase.
• At resonance energy transferred from the driver to the system is at its most
efficient point.
• A resonance curve is a graph of driving frequency f against amplitude of
oscillations.

• In a resonance curve as shown above,

-When f<f0 the amplitude of oscillations increases

-At the peak where f = f0 the amplitude is at its maximum. This is resonance.

-When f> f0 the amplitude of oscillations starts to decrease.

18 Electric fields

18.1 Electric fields and field lines

• Electric field strength is defined as the electrostatic force per unit positive
charge acting on a stationary point charge at that point.
• You can find the electric field strength (E) with the following equation

𝐹
𝐸=
𝑞

Here F is the electrostatic force on the charge (N) and q is the charge (C).

• Electric field is a vector quantity with SI unit of NC-1

• Opposite charges attract each other.

• Like charges repel each other.
• The electric field equation can be rearranged for the force (F) on a charge (q) in
an electric field (E)

F = QE
 • The direction of the force is determined by the charge.
• If the charge is positive, the force is the same direction as the E field.
• If the change is negative, the force is in the opposite direction to the E field.
• The force on the charge will cause the charged particle to accelerate if it is in
the same direction as the E field, or decelerate if in the opposite.

18.2 Uniform electric fields

• The electric field strength (E) of a uniform field between two charged parallel
plates is defined as:

𝛥𝑉
𝐸=
𝛥𝑑

Where 𝛥𝑉 is the potential difference between the plates and 𝛥𝑑 is the

separation between plates (m).
•
E is now also defined by the units Vm-1
•
The equation above can only be used for two charged parallel plates.
•
A charged particle will move through an electric field due to a force on it that is
caused by said electric field.

• The trajectory, as shown in the diagram above is parabolic.

• The direction of parabola depends on the charged of the particle.
• In the diagram above, the charge is negative hence it is deflected to the
positive side of the plate.
• If the charge was positive, it would have deflected to the negative side.
• The amount of deflection depends on three things:
-Mass: the greater the mass, the smaller the deflection and vice versa
 -Charge: the greater the magnitude of the charge of the particle, the greater
the deflection and vice versa
-Speed: the greater the speed of the particle, the smaller the deflection and
vice versa.

18.3 Electric force between point charges (this should be taught after 18.4 or
before 18.1)

• Coulomb’s Law states that the electrostatic force (F) between two point
charges is proportional to the product of the charges and inversely
proportional to the square of their separation.
• The coulomb equation is defined as
𝑄1 𝑄2
𝐹=
4𝜋𝜀0 𝑟 2

Here Q1 and Q2 are the point charges (C), 𝜀0 is the permittivity of free space
(8.85x10-12 Fm-1), r is the distance from the centre of the point charge (m).

• If there is a positive and negative charge, then the electrostatic force is

negative (attractive).
• If the charges are the same, they are positive (repulsive)
• The equation above is analogous to Newton’s Law of Gravitation Force (F =
Gm1m/r2).

18.4 Electric field of a point charge (this should be right after 18.2!)

• The electric field at a distance (r) due to a point charge (Q) in free space is
defined by

𝑄
𝐸=
4𝜋𝜀0 𝑟 2

• This equation is only used for electric field around a point charge.
• This equation is analogous to the gravitational field strength (g = Gm1/r2)
around a point mass.
18.5 Electric potential

• Electric potential is defined as the work done per unit positive charge in
bringing a small test charge from infinity to a defined point.
• Electric potential is a scalar quantity.
• Although electric potential (V) is a scalar quantity it can have a negative or
positive sign.
• The electric potential in the field due to a point charge is defined as:

𝑄
𝑉=
4𝜋𝜀0 𝑟

• Here Q is the point charge producing the charge (C)

• This equation is analogous to gravitational potential equation (ɸ = -Gm1/r).
• The electric potential energy (EPE or E p) is the work done in bringing a
charge from infinity to that point

𝑄1 𝑄2
𝐸𝑃𝐸 =
4𝜋𝜀0 𝑟

• The equation above is the work done to move point charge Q2 from infinity
towards point charge Q1.

If you want to calculate change in potential energy (𝛥EPE) from a distance r1 to a

distance r2 use the following equation
𝑄1 𝑄2 1 1
𝛥𝐸𝑝 = ( − )
4𝜋𝜀0 𝑟1 𝑟2
19 Capacitance

19.1 Capacitors and capacitance

• Capacitors are electrical devices used to store energy in electronic circuits.

• The circuit symbol for capacitor is shown below

• They come in two forms

-Isolated spherical conductor

-Parallel plates

• The unit of capacitor is capacitance.

• Capacitance is defined as the charge stored per unit potential difference.
• The higher the capacitance, the greater the energy that can be stored in a
capacitor.
• A parallel plate capacitor is made up of two conductive metal plates connected
to a voltage supply

• The negative terminal of the voltage supply pushes electrons onto one plate,
making it negatively charged.
• The electrons are repelled from the opposite plate, making it positively charged.
• There is a commonly a dielectric in between the plates to prevent the charge
does not free flow between them.
• The capacitance (C) of a capacitor is defined by the equation

𝑄
𝐶=
𝑉

• The SI unit is in Farad (F)

• If the capacitor is made of parallel plates, Q is the charge on the plates and V is
the potential difference across the capacitor.
• For spherical conductor, Q is the charged stored on its plates.
• The capacitance of a charged sphere is defined by the charge per unit potential
at the surface of the sphere.
• Recall that the potential (V) of an isolate point charge is given by

𝑄
𝑉=
4𝜋𝜀0 𝑟

Substituting into the capacitance equation we get the equation for capacitance
(C) of a sphere

C = 4𝜋𝜀0 𝑟

• For capacitor in series, recall that the total voltage (VT) is given by

VT = V1 + V2

Substituting
𝑄
𝑉=
𝐶
Into the equation above we get

𝑄 𝑄 𝑄
= +
𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝐶1 𝐶2
 Since the current is the same for a series circuit, Q will cancel out. If you have
more capacitors the equation will become
𝑄 1 1 1
= 𝐶 + 𝐶 +𝐶 + ⋯.
𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 1 2 2

• For capacitors in parallel start with

QT = Q1 + Q2
 You should get

CT = C1 + C2 + C3 +….

19.2 Energy stored in a capacitor

• The charge (Q) on a capacitor is directly proportional to its potential

difference (V).
• The area under the curve of a potential-charge graph is equal to the area under
a triangle.
• This area is the energy stored in a capacitor.
• The energy stored (W) is therefore

W =1/2 QV

Substituting Q = CV we get

W = ½ CV2
19.3 Discharging a capacitor

• When a capacitor is being charged, the electrons flow from the positive to
negative plate.
• When the capacitor is being discharged through a resistor, the electrons flow
back from negative plate to the positive plate until there are equal number of
electrons on each plate.
• At the start of the discharge, the current is large and gradually falls to zero.

• As a capacitor discharges, the I, V and Q all decrease exponentially.

• This is represented by an exponential decay in the graph above.
• V and Q versus time graphs have a similar shape as well.
• The rate at which a capacitor discharges depends on the resistance (R) of the
circuit.
• A high resistance will slow down the discharge since the current will decrease.
• A low resistance will increase the rate of discharge since current can flow
more freely.
• The time constant of a capacitor discharging through a resistor is a measure of
how long it takes for the capacitor to discharge.
• Time constant (τ) is defined as the time taken for the charge of a capacitor
to decrease to 0.37 of its original value

τ = RC
• The equations below can be used to determine how much current (I), potential
difference (V) and charge (Q) left after a certain amount of time from its
initial I0, V0 and Q0.

𝑡
𝐼 = 𝐼0 ⅇ −𝑅𝐶
𝑡
𝑉 = 𝑉0 ⅇ −𝑅𝐶
𝑡
𝑄 = 𝑄0 ⅇ−𝑅𝐶
20 Magnetic fields
20.1 Concept of a magnetic field

• There are two types of magnetic field that is created either by a permanent
magnet or a temporary magnet created around a current carrying wire to
moving charges.

20.2 Force on a current-carrying conductor

• A current carrying conductor produces its own magnetic field.

• When interacting with an external magnetic field, it will experience a force.
• A current-carrying conductor will only experience a force if the current through
it is perpendicular to the direction of the magnetic field lines.
• Magnetic field strength is measured in magnetic flux density (B).
• The units for B are in Tesla.
• The force (F) on a conductor carrying current (I) at right angles to a magnetic
field flux density (B) is given by

F = BIL sin θ

Here I is the current in the conductor (A), L is the length of the conductor
(meters) and θ is the angle between the conductor and external magnetic field B
(degrees).
• Based on the equation above, your maximum force occurs when the conductor is
perpendicular to B (θ = 900) since sin 90 = 1.
• Force will be zero when the conductor is parallel to B (θ = 00) since sin 0 = 0.
• Fleming’s left-hand rule can be used to determine the directions of the force,
magnetic field and current if they are perpendicular to each other.

• The forefinger, middle finger and thumb are perpendicular (90o degrees) to each
other.
• The forefinger points along the direction to the magnetic field, middle finger
points in the current direction and the thumb points along the direction of the
force.
• Magnetic flux density (B) is defined as the force acting per unit current per
unit length on a current carrying conductor placed perpendicular to the
magnetic field.
B = F/IL

• The equation above already assumed that B is perpendicular to current θ = 900

hence sin 90 = 1
20.3 Force on a moving charge

• The force on an isolating moving charge, i.e., electron or proton, is given by the
equation
F = BQv sin θ

Here Q is the charge of an electron (1.6x10-19C), v is the speed of the charge

(ms-1) and θ the angle between the charge’s trajectory and magnetic field
(degrees).
• Again, Fleming’s Left-Hand rule can be used to determine the directions of the
force on the charge, magnetic field and motion of the charge.

• Hall’s voltage is defined as the generation of an electric potential

perpendicular to both an electric current flowing along a conducting material
and an external magnetic field applied at right angles to the current upon
application of the magnetic field.
• When an external magnetic field is applied perpendicular to the direction of
current through a conductor, the electrons experience a magnetic force.
• This causes the electrons to drift to one side of the conductor.
• That side becomes negatively charged.
• The other side becomes positively charged.
• There’s now a potential difference between both sides.
• This potential difference is called Hall Voltage (VH).
• The electric field strength (E) across both sides is given by the equation

𝑣𝐻
𝐸=
𝑑
 Recall that
F = Bqv

and F =qE
qE = Bqv

substituting into the electric field strength equation, we get

𝑣𝐻
= 𝐵𝑣
𝑑

Current (I) is related to the drift velocity v by the equation

I = nAvq

Here A is the cross-sectional area of the conductor (m2) and n is the number
density of electrons (m-3). Rearranging the equation in terms of v and
substituting into the equation above

𝑣𝐻 𝐼
=𝐵
𝑑 𝑛𝐴𝑞

The area is the product of width d and thickness t

A = dt

Substituting into the equation above and cancelling d we get

𝐼
𝑣𝐻 = 𝐵
𝑛𝑡𝑞

• This equation shows that VH is directly proportional to B

• A Hall probe can be used to measure magnetic flux density (B) between two
magnets based on the Hall effect
• To measure B between two magnets, the flat surface of the probe must be
placed between both magnets so that the magnetic field lines pass completely
perpendicularly to this surface.
• The probe is then connected to a voltmeter to measure Hall voltage (V H). Since
VH is directly proportional to B, the flux density of the magnets can be obtained.
• A Hall probe will have zero voltage when B is parallel to the probe.
• A charged particle moving in a uniform magnetic field perpendicular to the
direction of motion of said particle travels in a circular path.
• This is due to the force (F) being perpendicular to its velocity (v).
• Refer to Fleming’s left-hand rule.
• The magnetic force (F) provides the centripetal force on the particle.
• A velocity selector is a region in which there is a uniform electric and magnetic
field.
• The fields are perpendicular to each other and perpendicular to the initial
velocity of the charged particles that are passing through the region.
• This allows a specific velocity to be filtered.

• A velocity selector consists of two horizontals oppositely charged plates

situated in a vacuum chamber.
• There is also a uniform magnetic field with flux density (B) applied
perpendicular to the E field.
• The forces exerted on a charged particle by the E field is given by

FE = qE

• The magnitude of the force exerted by the B field is

FB = qvB

• The idea is that, if both forces are equal and opposite (F E = FB), the net force is
zero, and the particle passes through the region without changing direction.
• With the magnetic force being speed dependent, any charges travelling faster
or slower than the ones that go straight though will be deflected (up or down)
out of the beam.
20.4 Magnetic fields due to currents

• Magnetic field patterns are formed wherever a current is flowing.

• An electromagnet is a temporary magnet made by winding an insulated wire around
a soft iron core, forming a coil known as a solenoid.
• When current passes through the solenoid it produces a magnetic field.
• The solenoid is said to magnetised and becomes an electromagnet.
• Magnetic field patterns:
-Straight wire

Use your Right Hand when you want to determine the magnetic field patterns!
Your thumb is the direction of your current while your four fingers are the
direction of the magnetic field.

-Magnetic field in solenoid

 • The strength of the magnetic field of a solenoid can be increased by
-adding a core made from a ferrous material
-adding more turns in a core
• The reason adding an iron core strengthens the B field is because the iron core
prevents flux leakage and concentrates the B field lines.
• Parallel carrying conductors will repel or attract each other as shown in the
diagram below.

• When the conductors attract, the magnetic force (FB) will be towards each
other.
• When the conductors repel, FB will be away from each other.
• You can use Fleming’s left-hand rule to confirm this!

20.5 Electromagnetic induction

• Electromagnetic induction is when an emf is induced in a closed-circuit

conductor due to it cutting through a magnetic field.
• Magnetic flux (Φ) is defined as the product of the magnetic flux density (B)
and the cross-sectional area (A) perpendicular to the direction of the
magnetic flux density.
• In simpler terms, magnetic flux is the number of magnetic field lines through a
given area.
 Φ = BA cos θ

• The units for Φ are in Webers (Wb).

• Magnetic flux is maximum when θ = 0 i.e., the B field are perpendicular to the
area A.
• Magnetic flux is maximum when θ = 0 i.e., the B field are perpendicular to the
area A.
• The magnetic flux linkage is a quantity commonly used for solenoids which are
made of N turns of wire
• Magnetic flux linkage (ΦN) is defined as the product of the magnetic flux
and the number of turns

ΦN = BAN cos θ

• ΦN has the units of Weber turns (Wb turns)

• The candidate will need to be familiar with three experiments in this chapter
-Moving a magnet through a coil
-Moving a wire through a magnetic field
-Evidence for Lenz’s Law
• Faraday’s Law states that the magnitude of the induced emf is directly
proportional to the rate of change of magnetic flux linkage (ε) through a
solenoid or the rate of the magnetic flux linkage (ε) being cut.
• In a nutshell what he was trying to say was move the magnet faster or use a
stronger magnet or increase the number of coils in the solenoid.

𝛥𝜙
𝜀=𝑁
𝛥𝑡

• Lenz Law states that the induced current always flows in the direction that
opposes the change in magnetic flux linkage.
• This law obeys the conservation of energy principle. Work is done to move the
magnet against the repulsive force.
• This work done is converted to electric energy (current).
21 Alternating currents An understanding of the practical and economic advantages
of transmission of power by electricity from Cambridge IGCSE /O Level Physics or
equivalent is assumed.
21.1 Characteristics of alternating currents

• AC current is defined as a periodically varying current that changes from

positive to negative and has a magnitude that changes with time.

• To find the frequency of an AC current just use

T = 1/f

• The peak current (I0) or peak voltage (V0) is the maximum value of the AC or
alternating voltage.
• The equations that can be used to represent AC or voltage are

I = I0 sin (⍵t)
V = V0 sin (⍵t)

• The rms value of an AC or voltage is defined as the value of a constant

current/ voltage that produces the same power in a resistor as the
alternating current/ voltage.
• The rms value represent the dc value producing the same heating effect or
power dissipation as the AC value.
• RMS can be calculated from
𝐼0
𝐼𝑟𝑚𝑠 =
√2
 𝑉0
𝑉𝑟𝑚𝑠 =
√2

• For mean power (Pmean ) in AC, the maximum power is related to the Irms by

Pmean = IrmsR

Recall that
P = I02R

Therefore
P = 2IrmsR = 2Pmean

Pmean = P/2

• The mean power in a resistive load is only half the max power for AC

21.2 Rectification and smoothing

• Rectification is the process of converting AC into DC.

• There are two types of rectification
-half-wave rectification
 -full-wave rectification

• Smoothing can be done with a capacitor to reduce the variation of the output
voltage and current.

• A single capacitor is connected in parallel with a load resistor.

• The capacitor is charged from the input voltage and maintains the voltage at a
high level.
• When the rectified voltage drops, the capacitor discharges.
• When the voltage rises again the capacitor is charged again.
• The amount of smoothing is controlled by the capacitance (C) of the capacitor
and the resistor (R).
• The slower the capacitor discharges, the more smoothing that occurs.
• Recall τ = RC.
• You can increase the discharge time by increasing C or R.
• This means that τ of the capacitor must be greater than the time interval
between adjacent peaks of the AC or voltage.
22 Quantum physics

22.1 Energy and momentum of a photon

• In classical wave theory, electromagnetic (EM) radiation is assumed to behave as

a wave.
• This is supported in that EM radiation exhibit wave like phenomena’s such as
diffraction, interference, refraction and interpolation.
• However, quantum mechanics also assumes that EM radiation behave as
particles.
• An example of this is the photoelectric effect.
• Photons are fundamental particles which make up all forms of EM radiation.
• A photon is a massless “packet” or a “quantum” of EM energy
• Each photo carries a specific amount of energy, and transfers this energy all in
one go.
• A photon’s energy (E in Joules) can be calculated with the following equation

E = hf

Here h is Planck’s constant (6.63x10-34 Js) and f is the frequency (Hz)

• The electronvolt (eV) is a unit usually used for the very small energies in
quantum energies
• Electronvolt is derived from

𝐸
𝑉=
𝑄
Rearranging this you will get

E = VQ

• The electronvolt is defined as the energy gained by an electron travelling

through a potential difference of 1 volt

1eV = 1.6x10-19 J
 • Einstein showed that a photon travelling in a vacuum has momentum (eventhough
photos have no mass!)
• The momentum (p) of a photon is given by

𝐸
𝑝=
𝑐

Here E is the energy of the photon and c is the speed of light (3x10 8 ms-1).
• The units for p is in Ns.

22.2 Photoelectric effect

• Photoelectric effect, is a phenomenon in which electrons are released from

the metal surface when it absorbs EM radiation.
• Electrons released from photoelectric effect is called photoelectrons.
• Photoelectric effect is evidence that light is quantised (discrete) because each
electron can only absorb a single photon and only at frequencies above a
threshold frequency.
• The threshold frequency is the minimum frequency of the EM radiation that
is needed to remove a photoelectron from the surface of a metal.
• The threshold wavelength can be determined from the wave equation

c = fλ

• Threshold wavelength is the longest wavelength of incident EM radiation that

would remove a photoelectron from the surface of a metal.
• Since energy is conserved, total energy of a photon hitting the surface of the
metal (hf) is equal to the sum of the threshold energy (Φ) with the KE of the
photoelectron (1/2mv2 or KE)

hf = Φ + 1/2mv2
 rearranging you get
KE = hf – Φ

• If you plot the above equation out you get

• From the graph

-the x-axis intercept would represent the reciprocal of the threshold
wavelength
-the slope would equal h
-the y-axis intercept would represent the work function
• If the incident photons do not have a high enough frequency (f) and energy to
overcome the work function (Φ), then no electrons will be emitted
• When hf0 = Φ and f0 = threshold frequency, photoelectric emission just occurs.
• KE depends only on the frequency of the incident photon and not on the
intensity of the radiation (number of photons striking the metal).
• This is because each electron can only absorb one photon to escape the surface
of the metal (if the photon has an energy equal to Φ or higher)
• Different metals will have different Φ.
• Hence KE is independent of intensity.
• Photoelectric current on the other hand is dependent on intensity.
• This is because when more photos strike the metal surface, more photoelectrons
are emitted.
• This is due to each electron absorbing a single photon.
• Hence, an increase number of photons increases the current.
• Photoelectric current is directly proportional to intensity.
22.3 Wave-particle duality

• Light waves can be described as either a particle or a wave.

• This phenomenon is called the wave-light particle duality.
• Lights propagates as wave as is evident from Young’s Double Slit Experiment
• Light can also interact with other matter such as electrons as evident in the
photoelectric effect.
• Louis de Broglie discovered that matter such as electrons can behave as a wave.
• His experiment showed that a diffraction pattern is produced when a beam of
electron is direct at a thin graphite film.
• Graphite is used because its structure allows for gaps between planes of atoms
to act as slits.
• The results below show classical model vs actual wave property of electrons.
 • De Broglie’s experimental results were very similar to Young’s Double slit
experiment

• De Broglie suggested that electrons must also hold wave like properties such as
wavelength.
• The faster an electron travels, the larger its wavelength.
• This is de Broglie’s wavelength which can be applied to all particles.
• An electron in a metal has de Broglie’s wavelength around 10nm.
• A particles width would need to be around that size in order to exhibit similar
properties.
• De Broglie suggested that the momentum (p) of a particle can be determined
from

ℎ
𝜆=
𝑝

Where h is the plank constant and λ the wavelength (meters).

22.4 Energy levels in atoms and line spectra

• Energy levels (also called electron shells) are fixed distances from the nucleus
of an atom which electrons can be found.
• Energy levels are like staircase.
• You can stand on one step or another but not in-between.
• Electrons are the same thing; they can occupy one energy level or another but
not the space in-between energy levels.

• Electrons usually occupy the lowest energy level available (ground state).
• Electrons can gain energy and move up levels if it absorbs energy by either:
-collision with other atoms or electrons
-absorbing a photon
-a physical source, such as heat
• When a electron gets promoted to a higher level it is said to be in an excited
state.
• This is known as excitation.
• If it gains enough energy to leave the atom, it is called ionisation.
• When an electron returns to a lower energy state from an excited state it
releases the excess energy in the form of a photon.
• A line spectra is a phenomenon which occurs when excited atoms emit light of
certain wavelengths which correspond to different colours.
• The light emitted can be observed as a series of coloured lines with dark spaces
in-between.
• Each element produces a unique set of spectral lines.
• This allows the element to be identified by their line spectrum.
• There are two types of line spectra; emission and absorption spectra.
• When an electron transitions from a higher energy level to a lower energy level,
this results in emission of a photon (emission spectra).
• An electron can be excited by the absorption of a photon.
• When white light passes through a cool, low pressure gas it is found that certain
wavelengths are missing.
• This is line spectrum is called absorption spectrum.
• An absorption spectrum consists of a continuous spectrum containing all the
colours with dark lines at certain wavelengths.
• When photons pass through the gas, electrons are excited to higher levels.
• When these electrons return to their ground state, the photons are emitted in
all directions, rather than in the original direction of the light.
• This makes it appear to the observer that some wavelengths are missing.
• The wavelengths missing from an absorption spectrum are the same as their
corresponding emission spectra of the same element.
• The different between two energy levels (E1 – E2) is equal to the photon energy
emitted (hf)

hf = E1 – E2
23 Nuclear physics

23.1 Mass defect and nuclear binding energy

• Based on Einstein’s theory of relativity, matter can be considered a form of

energy.
• What this means is that mass can be converted to energy and vice versa.
• This is known as mass-energy equivalence

E =mc2

• Nuclear reactions can be represented by balanced equations of nuclei in AZX

form

• Mass defect is the difference between the mass of the separated nucleons
and the combined mass of the nucleus.
• To calculate mass defect (Δm) for a nucleus that has A protons and B neutrons:

Δm = Amp + Bmn - Mn
 Where mp is the mass of a proton (kg), mn is the mass of a neutron (kg) and Mn is
the mass of the nucleus (kg).
• Due to the equivalence of mass and energy, this decrease in mass implies that
energy is released in the process.
• Since nuclei are made up of protons and neutrons, there are forces of repulsion
between the positive protons.
• It takes energy (binding energy) to hold nucleons together as a nucleus.
• Binding energy is defined as the energy required to break a nucleus into its
constituent protons and neutrons.
• Binding energy per nucleon is defined as the binding energy of a nucleus
divided by the number of nucleons in the nucleus.
• The higher the binding energy per nucleon the more stable the nucleus is and
the more energy is required to split the nucleus.
• The graph below shows the graph of binding energy per nucleon with nucleon
number

• From the graph above it can be seen that the lower A is, the lower binding
energy per nucleon.
• Attractive forces between nucleons dominate over repulsive electrostatic
forces between protons.
• This implies that they are generally less stable and can undergo fusion.
• With exception of Helium.
 • Carbon and Oxygen (which are multiples of Helium) have high binding energy
as well.
• The binding energy increases as A increases.
• This trend continues until Fe and after that increasing A decreases binding
energy.
• At very high A binding energy is lower and the heaviest elements are
unstable and likely to undergo fission.
• This is because repulsive electrostatic forces begin to dominate and there
forces tend to break apart the nucleus rather than hold it together.
• Fusion is defined as the fusing together of two small nuclei to produce a
larger nucleus.
• For fusion to occur, two small light nuclei (usually hydrogen and deuterium)
join together to make one heavy nuclei (typically helium).
• There are a number of different nuclear fusion reactions happening in the
Sun.
• The simplest is when four hydrogen nuclei become one helium nuclei.
• The combined mass of the four hydrogen nuclei is higher than the helium
nuclei.
• The mass defect here is converted to energy.
• The process of fusion involves fusing of nuclei which are positive particles.
• As both nuclei approach, they will repel.
• In order to overcome the electrostatic force, both nuclei must have high
KE energy.
• It takes a lot of energy to overcome the electrostatic force hence it can
only be achieved in a very high pressure and temperature environment (think
the core of a star)

• Fission is defined as the splitting of a large atomic nucleus into smaller

nuclei.
 • Nuclear fission starts when a heavy nucleus is bombarded by a neutron.
• For e.g. when the nucleus of U-235 is bombarded by a neutron, the nucleus of U-
236 is produced.
• The nucleus of U-236 is unstable and disintegrates quickly.
• When the unstable U-236 nucleus disintegrates, it fragments into two smaller
nuclei such as barium-141 and krypton-92.
• During the process new neutrons are also produced thus continuing the process.
• This self-sustaining process is called chain reaction.

• To calculate energy in nuclear reactions (both fission and fusion) just use

E = Δmc2

Here Δm is the mass defect (kg)

23.2 Radioactive decay

• Radioactive decay is the spontaneous disintegration of a nucleus to form a
more stable nucleus, resulting in the emission of an alpha, beta or gamma
particles.
• Evidence for the random nature of radioactive decay can be seen from the
fluctuations in the count rate of a Geiger-Muller counter.
• This proves that radioactive decay is both spontaneous and random.
• The average decay rate (A) is the average number of nuclei which are
expected to decay per unit overtime.
• A is measured in Becquerels (Bq) and can be found from

𝛥𝑁
𝐴= = −𝜆𝑁
𝛥𝑡

Here ΔN is the number of decayed nuclei, Δt is the rate (s), λ is the decay
constant (s-1) and N is the number of nuclei remaining in a sample.
• The decay constant is the probability that the nucleus will decay per unit time.
• Half-life is the time taken for the initial number of nuclei in radioactive
substance to reduce by half.
• It can be calculated from the equation

0 ⋅ 693
𝑡0.5 =
𝜆

• The number of nuclei in a radioactive decay is said to fall at an exponential rate.

• This model is known as exponential decay.
• The number of undecayed nuclei can be represented by

𝑁 = 𝑁0 ⅇ −𝜆𝑡

• From the plot above it can be seen that the higher the decay constant (λ), the
faster the decay.
24 Medical physics

24.1 Production and use of ultrasound

• Piezo-electric effect is the property exhibited by some nonconducting crystals

of becoming electrically polarized when mechanically strained and of becoming
mechanically strained when an electric field is applied.
• Piezoelectric crystals are materials that produce p.d. when they are deformed.
• When a p.d. is applied to the crystal it deforms and when revered it expands.
• If an AC is applied to the crystal it will vibrate at the same frequency.
• Quartz is the most common form of piezo crystals.
• An ultrasound transducer is made up of piezoelectric crystal.
• When the crystal is transmitting, it converts the pd into sound waves.
• When the crystal received the return wave, it converts the sound waves into AC.
• The signal is then process and used for medical diagnosis.
• The sound waves that are transmitted into the body are reflected back to the
transducer by boundaries between tissues.
• When these echoes hit the transducer, the signals are sent to the ultrasound.
• Using the speed of sound and the time of each echo’s return (time delay), the
scanner calculates the distance from the transducer to the tissue boundary.
• This distance is used to generate 2D images of the internal structure of the
body.
• The acoustic impedance (Z) of a medium is defined as the product of the
speed of the ultrasound in the medium and the density of the medium

Z = ρc

Here ρ is the density of the material (kgm-3) and c is the speed of sound in the
material (ms-1)

• At the boundary between media of different acoustic impedances, some wave

energy is reflected while others are transmitted.
• The greater the difference of Z between the two media, the greater the
reflection and the smaller the transmission.
 • Materials with same Z would give no reflection.
• Materials with large Z difference would give much larger reflections.
• Intensity reflection coefficient (α) can be calculated from

𝐼𝑟 (𝑧2 − 𝑧1 )2
𝛼= =
𝐼0 (𝑧2 + 𝑧1 )2

Here Ir is the intensity of the reflected wave (Wm-2), I0 is the intensity of the
incident wave (Wm-2), Z1 acoustic impedance of one material (kgm-2s-1) and Z2
acoustic impedance of the second material (kgm-2s-1).
• Attenuation of ultrasound is the reduction of energy due to the absorption of
ultrasound as it travels through a material.
• It is expressed in decibels per centimetre.
• The equation for intensity (I) of the ultrasound can be found with

𝐼 = 𝐼0 ⅇ −𝜇𝑥

Here I0 is the intensity of the incident beam (Wm-2), μ is the absorption

coefficient (m-1) and x is the distance travelled through a material (m).

24.2 Production and use of X-rays

• X-rays are created when high KE electrons bombard the surface of a metal.
• Their wavelengths range from 10-8 to 10-13 m
• In the cathode of an x-ray tube, the electrons are released through thermionic
emission.
• The electrons are then accelerated at high p.d. towards the anode.
• They then collide with the metal target.
• The sudden deceleration upon collision produces x-rays.
• X-rays are produced when the bombarding electrons knock of an electron out of
an inner shell of the target metal atoms.
• The electrons from higher states drop down to fill the vacancy emitting x-ray
photons.
• The minimum wavelength produced from the accelerating p.d. is equal to

ℎ𝑐
𝜆𝑚𝑖𝑛 =
ⅇ𝑉

Here e is the charge of an electron (C), V is the voltage across the anode (V, h is
Planck’s constant (6.63x10-34 Js) and c is the speed of light.
• X-rays are used in imaging internal body structures.
• Contrast allows a clear difference between tissues to be seen.
• Bones absorb X-rays and therefore appear white on an x-ray photograph.
• As the radiation pass through the body, they are absorbed and scattered.
• The attenuation of the radiation can be calculated using the equation

𝐼 = 𝐼0 ⅇ −𝜇𝑥

Here I is the intensity of the reflected beam (Wm-2), I0 is the intensity of the
incident beam (Wm-2), μ is the linear absorption coefficient (m-1) and x is the
distance travelled through the material (m)

• While x-ray imaging can only produce 2D images, a CAT scan can produce a 3D
image.
• A CAT scan works by having an x-ray tube rotate around a stationary patient.
• The scanner takes images of the same slice at many different angles.
• This process is then repeated for different slices.
• A software is then used to piece the images together to build a 3D image.
24.3 PET scanning

• A radioactive tracer is a substance that can be absorbed by tissue in order

to study the tissue.
• Positron Emission Tomography (PET) is an imaging test that uses radiotracers
to visualize tissues and organs by measuring changes in metabolic processes.
• A common radiotracer used in PET is fluorodeoxyglucose.
• The fluorine nuclei undergo B+ decay emitting positron.
• These tracers are usually orally ingested or injected into patients.
• Once inside the patient’s body, they appear on the screen as a bright area for
diagnosis.
• Upon entering the body, the short half-life of the tracer emits positrons
immediately.
• The positrons travel less than 1mm before it collides with an electron.
• This will result in annihilation between the particle and antiparticle.
• The annihilation produces pure energy and mass-energy and momentum are
conserved.
• The annihilation produces a pair of gamma-ray photos travelling in opposite
directions.
• Since mass-energy and momentum are conserved the gamma-ray photons
produces have an energy and frequency that can be determined from

E = hf = mec2

𝐸
𝑝=
𝑐

Here me is the mass of an electron in (kg)

• The gamma-ray photons travel outside the body and hit detectors in a line known
as the line of response.
• The more photons from a single point, the more tracer that is present in the
tissue being studied and will appear brighter on the image.
• The image of the tracer concentration can be created by processing the arrival
times of the gamma-ray.
25 Astronomy and cosmology

25.1 Standard candles

• Luminosity L is defined as the total power output of radiation emitted by a

star.
• It is measured in Watts
• The observed amount of intensity F is the observed amount of intensity, or
the radiant power transmitted normally through a surface per unit of area,
of radiation measured on defined as Earth.
• Light leaving a star can be assumed to be a uniformly spread out like a spherical
shell.
• Hence, the inverse square law of flux can therefore be calculated using

𝐿
𝐹=
4𝜋𝑑 2

Here L is the luminosity of the source (watts), d is the distance between the
star and Earth (m).
• F is measured in Wm-2
• Standard candle is defined as an astronomical object which has a known
luminosity due to a characteristic quality possessed by that class of object.
• By knowing luminosity of a source, the distance can be estimated based on how
bright it appears on Earth.

25.2 Stellar radii

• Wien’s Law states that the black body radiation curve for different
temperatures peaks at a wavelength λmax which is inversely proportional to
the temperature (T)
 λmax ∝ 1/ T

• This equation tells us that the higher the temperature of a body the shorter
the wavelength.
• The full equation for Wien’s Law is given by

𝜆𝑛𝑎𝑥 𝑇 = 2 ⋅ 9 × 10−3

• Stefan-Boltzmann Law states that the total energy emitted by a black body per
unit area per second is proportional to the fourth power of the absolute
temperature of the body.
• This can be expressed as

L = 4Пr2 σT4

Here r is the radius of the star (meters), σ is Stefan-Boltzmann constant

(5.67x10-8 Wm-2K-4) and T is the surface temperature of the start (Kelvin).
• The radius of a star can be estimated by combining Wien’s displacement law and
Stefan-Boltzmann law
• First use Wien’s displacement law to find the surface temperature of the star.
• Using inverse square law of flux equation to find luminosity of the star
• Finally, using SB law to find the stellar radius of the star.

25.3 Hubble’s law and the Big Bang theory

• One of the ways astronomers investigate objects in space is by looking at the

emission and absorption spectra of stars.
• Elements in stars absorb some of the emitted wavelengths.
• These characteristic lines are present when the spectrum is analysed.
• Compared to the sun, spectral lines from stars in distant galaxies appear to be
shifted slightly.
• The lines show an increase in wavelength
• The lines are moved or shifted towards the red end of the spectrum.
• This phenomenon is called redshift.
• Due to the Doppler effect on light, redshift on the spectral lines occurs when an
object is moving away from the earth and blueshift when it is moving towards.
• Doppler shift can be calculated using

𝛥𝜆 𝛥𝑓 𝑣
= =
𝜆 𝑓 𝐶

Here 𝛥𝜆 is the shift in wavelength (m), 𝜆 is the wavelength emitted from the
source (m), 𝛥𝑓 shift in frequency (Hz), 𝑓 is the frequency emitted from the
source (Hz), v is the speed of recession (ms-1) and c is the speed of light (ms-1).
• Due to the Doppler redshift, astronomers believe that the galaxies are
expanding.
• The more red-shifted the light from a galaxy is, the faster the galaxy is moving
away from earth.
• Hubble’s Law states that the recession speed of galaxies moving away from
Earth is proportional to their distance from the Earth

V = H0d

• Here v is the galaxy’s recessional velocity (ms-1), d is the distance between the
galaxy and earth (m) and H0 is Hubble’s constant (s-1).
• The Big Bang theory states that universe expanded from an initial state or point
of extremely high density and high temperature which then began to expand
very quickly.
• Evidence for this theory comes from redshifted galaxies and the ever expanding
universe.
• Data from Hubble’s Law can be extrapolated back to the point that the universe
started expanding i.e., the beginning.